Never DIY a repair, and other do’s and don’ts of home electricity

It’s easy to take your home electrical system for granted — until it stops working. No one wants to be without light, air-conditioning, or a working refrigerator, so you might be tempted to find a quick fix online and do a DIY repair.

Not so fast, experts say. Electricity is an area where it’s usually better to bring in a professional. If you do the wrong thing, you could make things worse instead of better. And making a mistake with electricity can be expensive or even life-threatening.

“I have wired homes, upgraded panels and seen how fast one bad decision can turn a kitchen into a cautionary tale,” says Benjamin Tom, a Los Angeles-based electrician and a utility specialist with Electricity Monster. “Electricity does not wait for you to figure it out.”

One thing you can do yourself, though, is take some simple steps to prevent problems from happening. Electricians and general contractors share some basic do’s and don’ts to help you avoid home electrical mishaps.

Overloaded electrical circuits are a major cause of residential fires, according to the Electrical Safety Foundation International in Arlington, Va. An overloaded circuit happens when too many electrical devices are connected to a single circuit (a loop that electricity flows through), which causes the circuit to consume more power than it can safely handle.

Tom was called to one home where two fridges in the kitchen and a freezer in the garage were all relying on the same 15-amp circuit. Every time one of the compressors kicked on, the garage lights would flicker. When he opened the wall to see what was going on, Tom found the insulation was turning brown and there was a faint burning smell. If they hadn’t caught it in time, “the damage would have started from inside the wall and burned through the studs before a smoke alarm could catch it,” he says.

Learn how to spot signs of trouble. “Overloaded circuits give quiet warnings,” Tom says. But “they’re easy to spot if you pay attention [and] know how to read them.” Warning signs may include flickering or dimming lights, frequently tripped circuit breakers or blown fuses, warm or discolored outlet wall plates, a burning odor around wall switches, or a cracking or buzzing sound near an outlet where appliances are in use.

If you notice any of these signs, contact a licensed electrician, who can make suggestions for redistributing the load (by moving appliances to other circuits), replace the wiring, or upgrade the electrical panel.

In the meantime, take steps to avoid overloading circuits in the first place. Don’t plug too many appliances into the same outlet, and don’t rely on power strips for heavy-duty appliances, such as air-conditioning units. Major appliances should be plugged directly into a wall outlet, and only one heat-producing appliance — think toaster and coffee maker — should be operated from a particular outlet at a time, according to the ESFI. (It’s also a good idea to unplug appliances when you’re not using them, for safety’s sake and to save energy.)

“If your circuit breaker keeps flipping, it’s trying to get your attention [and] doing exactly what it’s supposed to do — protecting your home from an electrical overload,” says Robert Lee, a senior technician for Lee Air Services in Southlake, Texas. Don’t ignore or try to get around those signals. If you tape it down or force it to stay on in another way, it could lead to overheating, melted wires, and worse.

“Circuit breakers are designed to trip when something is not quite right — two wires could be touching or there could be an increase in wattage that exceeds what the breaker is designed to handle,” says Tom Jameson, a licensed electrician and owner of AstroWatt Electric, based in Apex, N.C.

A licensed electrician can figure out whether you need to add a new circuit, upgrade your wiring, or improve your outlet setup.

Taking the time to label the circuit breakers in your electrical panel can save you from fumbling around, trying to guess which circuits have tripped, and where the electrical problem lies in your home when you lose partial power, Lee says. This also helps you figure out which circuit controls which lights and appliances, and it allows electricians to work more efficiently when they’re called in for troubleshooting. To identify and label which circuit breaker in an electric panel serves a particular outlet, appliance, or area of the house, you can use a battery-operated circuit breaker finder, which you can find for less than $100 at big-box hardware stores. Or you could systematically turn off breakers to see which ones affect which areas of your home.

It’s also a good idea to test GFCI (short for ground fault circuit interrupter) switches in your outlets monthly, Lee says. These safety devices, most often found in kitchens and bathrooms, quickly shut off power when a problem is detected to protect you from electric shocks. An easy way to do this is to plug a night light or another small device into the outlet. Turn the device on, then press the “test” button (which is usually black) to see if the device turns off; next, press the “reset” button (usually red) on the GFCI outlet to see if the device turns back on. If it’s not operating properly, bring in an electrician.

“An extension cord is meant to be used temporarily,” says Jon Schlecht, a licensed electrician with Prairie Electric in the Portland, Ore., area. It can overheat on both ends, which can cause a fire, he says.

Also, be careful about how and where you use them. The ESFI cautions against plugging a space heater or fan into an extension cord or power strip because these can cause the cord, the plug, or the outlet to overheat.

Jameson had a customer who turned his dusty garage into a workshop by running extension cords along the floor to a workbench. One day, an extension cord that wasn’t connected properly created sparks, causing a small fire because dust is extremely flammable. Fortunately, he was able to put it out with a fire extinguisher, then he had Jameson’s company come to check the electrical system.

If you’re relying heavily on extension cords or power strips, that’s a sign that you have too few outlets, according to ESFI. A licensed electrician can survey your home and add additional outlets.

Yellow, brown, or scorch marks on outlets are signs of damage. The same is true of cracks or loose connections where plugs don’t fit snugly into an outlet, says Chris Stevenson, a general contractor and professional roofer with 730 South Exteriors in Denver.

Using a damaged outlet “can lead to arcing, which generates heat and can ignite nearby materials,” Stevenson says. “If you see any of these signs, don’t ignore them. It’s like [having] a small leak in your roof — it might seem minor now, but it can cause big problems down the road.”